In close connection to the Inter-Governmental Consultations between India and Germany, several representatives of the research landscapes of both countries came together on 24 October in Delhi to celebrate 50 years of collaboration. In 1974, the first agreement was signed between the two countries. Since then, the ministry, the funding organisations and research institutions in India and Germany have engaged in a variety of joint programmes and initiatives.

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Showcasing these activities and highlighting the strong partnerships, the Department of Science and Technology organised a high-level event in New Delhi. The ministers from both countries, Ms. Bettina Stark Watzinger and Dr. Jitendra Singh, attended the festivities. During several speeches, keynotes and panel discussions, the strength of Indo-German collaborations were presented and new initiatives were announced. DFG Vice President Prof. Karin Jacobs took part in the celebration, highlighting a special jubilee for the DFG. In 2004, the first Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Department of Science and Technology, which since then has resulted in a variety of joint research calls, co-funded research projects, the Post-Lindau Tour and the first DST-DFG-funded International Research Training Group (IRTG) in 2024. 

During the DFG session of the event organised by the DFG Office India, several researchers presented their projects, highlighting different stages of international research collaboration – from the initiation phase to coordinated research collaborations. This offered a clear insight into how new endeavours can be started and continued over a long period of time to lead to successful results. The presented variety of successful funding programmes with the Indian partner agencies DST, DBT, INSA and SERB and the German funding organisations showed that there is a large selection of funding opportunities currently available.

Looking into the future of DFG-funded international research collaboration, the newly funded IRTG 2991 “Photolumineszenz in supramolekularen Matrices” between the University of Würzburg and the IISER Thiruvananthapuram presented their initiation phase over the last few years and showed how small collaborations can lead to big consortia, covering aspects of PhD training between German and Indian institutions.

As part of the overall programme, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Indo German Science and Technology Center (IGSTC) and the GSI/FAIR facility organised panel sessions where they discussed highlights and future plans of their organisations in India. The event concluded with a dinner reception where new networks and partnerships could be explored. It became quite clear that the celebrated 50 years of collaboration were just a start and all participants and representatives of the research funding organisations and research institutions are looking forward into even more successful future collaboration.